Andrews LEA Text Chapters 2 and 6-AG

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Chapter 6 Language Exploration Activity, Page 164
Exploration: Plain or Special: Both Work
Directions: Some words are learned and used in everyday, ordinary conversations. Other words are learned and are used for special occasions. Here are several word pairs some people consider representative of ordinary/special terms.
Fat/overweight
Skinny/thin
Stupid/ignorant
Fire/conflagration
Talk/speech
Kids/children
  1. Would it make any difference to you when you would use one of these instead of the other?
    1. I would probably never use the term “fat” to describe a person, especially to that persons face. I would typically use the word “overweight”. This term seems kinder to me and does not seem like an insult but a description.
    2. I see the word “skinny” as way to describe someone who is severely underweight (almost sickly). I typically use the word “thin” when someone is small yet still healthy.
    3. I normally never use the word “stupid” to describe anyone unless I am trying to be cruel. I use the term “ignorant” when I am describing someone who is stuck in his or her ways and refuses to listen to anyone else.
    4. I only use the word “fire” in regular language. I feel like “fire” fits better in most sentences than “conflagration”.
    5. I use the term “talk” when I am describing conversation between people. When I use the term “speech” I am usually referring to someone getting up and lecturing/addressing a group of people.
    6. When I say the term “kids” I usually am referring to someone’s offspring that I am close to (ex: “my sister’s kids”). When I say the term “children” I am most likely speaking of young adolescents that I do not know well.
  2. Does your dictionary make any distinctions between the meanings and possible uses of these words?
    • Fat- (adj.) having too much flabby tissue; corpulent: obese, Overweight- (adj.) weighing too much or more than is considered normal, proper
      • The definitions are both saying very similar statements but “overweight” is put more delicately.
    • Skinny- (adj.) very lean or thin; emaciated, Thin- (adj.) having relatively little extent from one surface or side to the opposite; not thick
      • There is a big difference between these two definitions. I believe “skinny” is referring to a person while “thin” can be referring to a person or an object.
    • Stupid- (adj.) lacking ordinary quickness and keenness of mind; dull, Ignorant- (adj.) lacking in knowledge or training; unlearned
      • There is a difference between these. I believe that the dictionary is saying that a person who is “stupid” is someone who cannot improve his or her knowledge. Someone who is “ignorant” is someone who has the ability to be smart but lacks the correct training.
    • Fire- (n.) a state, process, or instance of combustion in which fuel or other material is ignited and combined with oxygen, giving off light, and flame, Conflagration- (n.) A destructive fire, usually an extensive one
      • I think that “fire” is the literal term and “conflagration” is more of a type of fire; a different form fire can take.
    • Talk- (v.) to communicate or exchange ideas, information, etc., Speech- (n.) the faculty or power of speaking; oral communication; ability to express one’s thoughts and emotions by speech sounds and gesture
      • The dictionary describes these two terms as separate parts of speech. This would make sense why so many of us do not see these words interchangeably.
    • Kids- (n.) Informal. A child or young person, Children- (n.) pl. of child (a person between birth and full growth)
      • The differences in these two terms are when to use them; “children” in a more formal setting and “kids” in an informal setting
  3. Why, in your judgement, do some people prefer one word in each pair instead of the other?
    1. I feel that people usually prefer to say “overweight” instead of fat to be kinder to the individual they are referring to.
    2. In other people’s language I hardly here a difference between “skinny” and “thin”. I feel as though most people use these two terms interchangeably.
    3. I feel as if people treat the terms “stupid” and “ignorant” much like I do. They never use the word “stupid” to describe anyone unless they are trying to be offensive and only use the term “ignorant” when they are trying to describe someone who is stubborn in their way of thinking.
    4. I believe that people typically will choose “fire” over “conflagration” just because “fire” is the common term and is easily understood.
    5. Again I feel like the words “talk” and “speech” have evolved into completely different terms. “Talk” to describe conversation and “Speech” to describe a more formal lecturing or addressing”
    6. I think that most people use the words “kids” and “children” interchangeably. Maybe they may choose the term “children” in a more formal setting.

Sources:
Andrews, L. (2006). Languagenexploration and awareness. (3rd ed.). Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.

hacker. 2011. In Merriam-Webster.com.Retrieved May 8, 2011, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hacker